How to Do the Impossible: The Power of Asking the Right Questions
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This chapter is for those of you who have big plans—things you want to do, but they seem impossible right now. If you’ve read other chapters of my book or watched my vlogs, you probably remember the story I shared with President Jett and Engineer Ome. We once looked at a machine that cost 15 million pesos. It was a machine we needed to help build a Filipino-made car.
People started asking me, “Can you really afford that machine?” The question itself already assumes the answer might be no. But in this blog, I won’t tell you whether we bought the machine or not. That’s not the point. Instead, I’ll tell you about the strategy we used—and more importantly, the mindset behind it.
Because here’s the truth: asking the right question is more important than having the right answer.
The Difference Between “Can I?” and “How Can I?”
Most people ask: “Can we buy it?” And there are only two answers: yes or no. When you answer “no,” your mind stops looking for solutions. That’s how the brain works—it stops working when it thinks the answer is final.
But I asked myself a different question: “How can we afford it?”
See the difference? Instead of shutting down, that kind of question opens your mind. It unlocks ideas, creativity, and strategy. When you ask “how,” you challenge your brain to find a way. And believe me, it works.
This isn’t just about buying a machine. This applies to any dream—starting a business, quitting your job, launching a product, or even just saving money. If your question is only, “Can I start a business?” then the answer might be no. But if your question is, “How can I start a business even if I have a full-time job?” or “How can I start a business with zero capital?” then you give yourself a fighting chance.
Ask the Right Questions and Answers Will Come
There’s a verse in the Bible that backs this up:
Matthew 7:7 — “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
I believe that answers are already around us. They're within reach. The reason we don’t see them is because we’re asking the wrong questions. We’re trained to ask yes-or-no questions. But the real game-changer? Ask how.
Try this: instead of asking yourself “Can I?”—ask “How can I?” and don’t stop. Don’t be afraid to ask again and again. The right question will always lead you to the right solution. And when that solution finally arrives, the only thing left between you and your dream is courage—the courage to execute it.
What Happened to the 15 Million Peso Machine?
Now back to that 15-million machine. Did we end up buying it? No. But here’s the twist—we didn’t need it. Instead of asking “Can we buy it?” we asked, “How can we move forward even if we don’t?”
That question opened up new ideas. New strategies. New progress. And in the end, we realized we could still move forward without that machine. We weren’t stuck. We weren’t limited. Because we didn’t allow our minds to stop at no.
Final Thought: Don’t Let “No” Be the End
Sometimes in life, you’ll be faced with impossible situations. Things you can’t afford. Things you don’t know how to do. Things that feel out of reach. But don’t let that stop you.
Just change the question.
Because the truth is this:
The answer is in the question.
And when you ask the right question, you’ll always find a way. Just like we did.